First off, this post isn't proposing any trades. This is just a situation that might come up, or it might not come up, depending on how well we play Everyone on the board is saying that Steve is playing out of position and that he should be a shooting guard. Well, we already have a shooting guard, and a damn good one at that. We could move Steve to shooting guard, Cat to small forward, and have Moochie running the point, except that we would get killed on defense, and most people would rather have Steve at the point than Moochie, anyways. So, Moochie is back to being a sixth man. I don't like like moving Cuttino to the bench, either, because he has earned a starting spot and it wouldn't be fair to have him coming off the bench, and we would STILL have Moochie running the point the majority of the time. So, basically, everyone is saying that Steve and Cat can't co-exist on this team. If that becomes the case, then which one gets the heave ho? Steve seems to be un-tradeable because of his big extension, but Juwan Howard has been traded TWICE, so it's not entirely out of the question. The problem is, most point guards don't have the big contracts, so the Rockets would have to take on 2 or 3 contracts, one of those being the so called "pass first" point guard that everyone here is yearning for. Mobley's contract is a little more cap friendly, so he seems easier to trade right now. The problem with trading Mobley, though, is that shooting guards are plentiful in the league, so we might have to include another player to sweeten the deal a little. I don't really WANT either player traded, but I don't control what the front office does, and I would support any trade they made, even if it were Steve or Cuttino. damn, I hate being pessimist...
There were only 13 guys who averaged more apg than Steve last year. Of those guys we could possibly get, I don't think you'd want any of them. Stoudamire and Van Exel are pretty much the only guys we can get. I dont think peope are saying Steve and Cat can't coexist, if anything, there upset because the play so well together. Most of the people compaining would rather have Boki and Ming bricking shots than watch Steve and Cat have and excellent game. How do I know this? Because this is the only place where you find fans b****ing about a player who just had a career night in scoring. That's like compaining about Bagwell if he were to hit 5 homeruns in a game that we lose. I don't understand the logic of what I've read in other threads. More people are b****ing about Cat and Steve for having awesome games instead of calling out Ming, Griffin, and Boki for not playing well.
I think Moochie should come off the bench. He is much better at sparking the team. Steve and Cuttino are our 1/2 and Rudy needs to leave it that way. The only trade that would work with Francis or Mobley is a Francis and Mobley trade. If you don't ship them both then there will be some huge chemistry issues. I hope I never see either one of them leave.
I think this is the problem right here. Steve Francis is an all-star point guard and yet there are 13 other point guards who average more assists/game.
Oski, I agree that it is an incredible feat for a guy to score 39 points in a game and earn a new career high. It would also be incredible if Bagwell hit 5 homeruns in 9 innings. The point is, however, that we lost! Stats can be impressive, but the greatest stat of all is winning. If you are a star player, and the Rockets' team leader, you have to be the one that gets that going, and that doesn't just mean scoring all of your teams' points. Especially if you are a point guard, you have to lead this team by getting players their touches. 39 points is pretty dominating, but until Franchise learns how to help his team win in other areas [besides scoring], we're not going to see too many W's in the victory column.
It is wiser to salvage what we got instead of starting a new one. Trading player is a desparate measure. What players out there can possibly replace CAT?
Good insight A-Train. I agree with what you said. I think that they can co-exist. Steve shot and shot last game because he was the only player making shots. Steve knows that if he is not on, to find Cat or someone else. I really dont think Steve is a selfish person. I think(hope) that he is more concerned with winning. When Yao gets his NBA speed and legs, he will need touches. MoT is going to need touches. Cat needs touches. I truly believe(maybe I am hiding from the truth), really I believe that Steve is ready to distribute when someone hits a shot. He wants to win. Period. Cat, I believe, is the same. He did not have to take the contract we gave him. He could have gone to a team without a Stevie Franchise already there. He likes H-town, and Steve and wants to win also. I think they will spread the love and win some ball games. Go Rocks.
The point I'm trying to make is that Steve did his part and instead of taking less of the blame or getting and equal share, he gets it all. I suppose as the leader he should expect that. But it would be nice for people to also aknowledge that Griffin was off, Ming was stripped 3 times, Boki has been unimpressive, and that we only had 9 players. Think about what people would be saying if we won that game. They wouldn't treat it like a normal win, they'd be pumped up and talking about how we overcame the obstacles of having only 9 players with 1/3 of our team being comprised of rookies. I just want to see the blame spread out and not just dumped completely on Steve. I think I went overboard with comparing 39 to 5 HR's, that's more like scoring 70 to a 100 in a game.
Oski2005 minor point, but there were 14 players who averaged more points that Steve Francis. You are leaving out Chris Webber. A-Train, I have no interest in turning Steve Francis into the second shortest SG in the league. To me, it is a stupid idea. Why would I want to make it easier for the opposing coach to cover Steve with their best defensive player? It is wiser to develop an offense that doesn't rely on a pure PG than it is to make Steve face players who are bigger and stronger than he is. If Steve can't run a normal offenses that relies on pure PG skills, get a center who can pass like Divac. Hey, that's a good idea. I wonder if anyone has thought of that...hmmmmm
If the Rockets want to keep Francis at PG then they may have to get a Doug Christie type SG who won't hog the ball as much as Mobley. We can only have one ballhog playing guard if we plan on going far IMOP.
Ya know, posting a differing opinion often ends up as a war of attriition. The poster who has the most time ends up with the last word. Wins by default. Time and opportunity is very limited on my end, so please be gracious. If there is a B-ball coach willing to admit he's got players able to break opponents down off the dribble and create their own shots, but NOOO ... he won't allow that. Gotta pass the rock to whomever displays consistent ineptitude. point him out, I guarantee yah .... He'll be seeking employment soon. Expecting the Rocks to hand over the team to unproved players is beyond reason or logic. Ya build from strength. And Francis & Mobley ARE our main PROVEN strength. regards
I agree that we should have gone to Francis and Mobley at the end of the game because they where the only ones who could make a shot that night. I think what many people disagree with is how we get them open to take those shots. Instead of running top of key iso's lets set up Mobley or Francis on some back pics or something. A player can still be the focal point of the offense without having him dribble the ball for 20 seconds.
So after one game it's time to panic, be pessimistic, and talk about breaking up the backcourt!? One opening day loss on the road and people are this negative that they're talking about breaking up the team? God please let us win against Denver to get rid of this stuff. Mobley scored 22 points and he's a ball-hog!? Doug Christie? Whatever. I was waiting for the "Mobley is a ball-hog lets get Christie or Sprewell or Finley" posts.
Part of what bothered me about the Indiana game was one play during the 2nd half, when we were still within striking distance. Steve had the ball at the top of the key, he crossed over and moved to his right, drawing another defender to him in a double- team. It was Nachbar's defender who came over, leaving him wide open for a 3, no defender within 8 feet of him. Steve either A) never saw him (which I have a hard time believing, since he was right there, directly in his line of sight, about 6 feet away) or B) saw him, but instead chose to drive into a double- team and jack up a shot on his own. Neither possibility thrills me as something you want to see from your starting point guard. And that was just one play out of many similar ones that night. I like Steve a lot, but it's clear he has not yet gained faith in his new teammates. I don't think he played the way he did out of selfishness or greed, but instead it looked as though he felt that he HAD to. And Cuttino, well.. personally I don't believe that being a 'shooting guard' means he has to interpret the phrase quite so literally. Part of being a slasher-type player is the fact that once he shows he can nail the jumper consistently, the defense WILL move out on him, and then he can drive in. Any good coach knows that when you adjust your defense like this, you have to have another defender to help on the play when he drives past the defender going out. And a good shooting guard will immediately recognize when this happens and locate the open man for an easy j. I can honestly not think of a single time I have seen Cat do this. I'm, sure he has, I just can't think of any. But he sure as heck didn't do it against Indiana. I think these problems can be fixed. This team has all the pieces it needs to become a quality contender in the league. But it's all on Rudy now. He has to break these kids of their blind faith in their ability to score 1 on 5. But if he manages to break them of it, it's going to take time. I figure by about 40 games in, we should be around .500, and ready to make a push for 45+ wins and some noise in the playoffs. But if Steve and Cuttino can't (or won't) cooperate, then fuggedaboutit! ciao
